The April Bulletin opens with an article by Aneta Boudová about the current state of the freedom of press in the world. Unfortunately, for several years now the freedom has been decreasing, partially due to the deterioration of the situation in traditionally democratic states.

The Czech Centre for Human Rights and Democratization is pleased to present a new issue of the Czech Republic Human Rights Review examining the period of 2017.

You will find articles written by Adam Blisa and Michal Oščipovský focusing on the state of the constitutional judiciary in the Czech Republic and Central Europe, followed by articles from Laura Haiselová, Eva Drhlíková and Šárka Dušková on developments regarding the right to information and the use of classified information. Nela Černotová's article informs about the Czech National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights and the issue is closed by two articles from Kamila Abbasi and Kateřina Studecká focusing on criminal law topics.

Professor Manfred Nowak is a widely respected human rights expert who in 2007 started to promote a reform of the UN human rights treaty bodies that would contain the establishment of the so-called World Court of Human Rights. How does he perceive this idea today?

The interview was published in March 2016, in Czech, now we also present it in English.

The UN human rights treaty bodies are control mechanisms that monitor the respect for a number of human rights treaties at the universal level (e.g. the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). However, the functioning of the treaty bodies is in the long-term, quite inefficient and therefore, Manfred Nowak suggests that in the future these committees (e.g. the Human Rights Committee) should focus mainly on reviewing state reports.

The Absher App is an application launched by the Interior Ministry of the Saudi government in 2015. Some focus on how the app reduces bureaucracy while others emphasis the ability of the app to allow men to track the location of women. Since its release it has generated minimal public discussion, however, the debate has been increasing.

In order to fully understand and appreciate the significance of this App, one must first be familiar with the “guardianship laws” existent in Saudi Arabia. Very briefly, guardianship laws grant certain rights to a “guardian” of a woman. Every woman in Saudi Arabia, no matter how old she is, has a male guardian. This could be her father, husband, brother or son. This male guardian must give her permission to obtain passports, undergo various medical procedures and get married. Opponents to guardianship laws believe these laws give women a status similar to minors.

The March Bulletin opens with an interview with Věra Jourová, a Czech EU Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality. What does she focus on within the given fields? Is it possible to effectively fight fake news? What topics does the Commission focus on within the area of human rights? Does the accession of the European Union to the European Convention of Human Rights belong among them?